


Tommy's Dreams

by nopasanada (FinalCajaNegra)



Category: Dunkirk (2017)
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon, Translation in English
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-12 19:13:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11743389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinalCajaNegra/pseuds/nopasanada
Summary: It was not till he saw cliffs of Dorset did Tommy find out Gibson was not on Moonstone.





	Tommy's Dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [汤米的梦](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11741427) by [nopasanada (FinalCajaNegra)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinalCajaNegra/pseuds/nopasanada). 



It was not till he saw cliffs of Dorset did Tommy find out Gibson was not on Moonstone.  

When he is first led downstairs by that blonde lad, he scans through every oil-covered face, only to find Alex and several of his  _Highlander regimental brothers_ .

Later he pokes his head out onto deck, wanting to have a look at Dover. Blonde lad props against the steering wheel, saying it's actually Dorset.

Tommy glances around the deck, realising he doesn't see Gibson anywhere.

The cabin is crowded with soldiers, and so is the deck. There is even one pilot in his gem blue RAF uniform, but none of them has eyes of a French soldier.

Tommy looks back to the direction they came all the way from. The sunk trawler, bombed Keith, oil-covered sea surface and crashed Heinkel are all gone. 

 

* * *

  

_He shuts his eyes tight and covers his ears hard. Through seawater and his palms, he can still hear sounds of the bomber above head. He is running out oxygen. Inevitably, he floats up to the surface. Before he can take in any breath, a bomb explodes right in front of him —_  

Tommy takes a deep breath. When he glances around, he remembers they are already back on a train in Britain. Alex sleeps like a log across from him. 

 

* * *

 

After reading Churchill's speech on Dunkirk, Tommy puts down the newspaper, trying to ask as casually as he can, "So, you see Gibson around?"   


"Who?" Alex, holding his bottle, looks back from the window.   


_The one who saved your ass with me. The one who didn't leave the two of us to float on the sea to death. The one you pointed with a rifle forcing him to die._   


"That Frenchman."   


"Ah, that queue-jumping frog." Alex takes a sip of his beer, "Don't know. I just remembered patting on his shoulder and telling him to leave, and then I escaped for my own ass. Was he not on Moonstone?"   


Tommy swallows hard, "No he was not."   


"Shame." Alex frowns, "Maybe he wasn't good at swimming."   


Tommy watches Alex turn back to the window to drink to the platform. What he doesn't point out is that Gibson got to the row boat way earlier than them, without a life jacket.   


 

* * *

_He struggles to swim towards Moonstone, yet the ship is turning away from them. He and other British soldiers around cry out in desperate. At this moment, Heinkel crashes on the oil surface, immediately causing raging fire. The flame sweeps over, coming right towards him —_   


Tommy opens his eyes, then shuts again. Lying on the right side, he curls into a ball, sobbing into his pillow. 

 

* * *

  

His father is reading newspaper, as his mother hands over breakfast to him.   


"What is the name of that boat saved you again?" Father's gaze is still on the newspaper.   


Tommy gulps down a spoon of beans, "Moonstone."   


"You never mentioned a boy on that boat died." Father passes the paper to him, pointing to a small headline. It reads "LOCAL BOY, GEORGE MILLS, JUST 17, HERO AT DUNKIRK".   


"I forgot." Tommy did forget.   


The expression on his mother's face now gets serious up, "Tommy, we shall not forget someone who saved us. Never."   


Tommy's thought, though, goes back to a pack of rope on a row boat. 

 

* * *

  

_Moonstone turns and leaves. He takes one final breath before sinking into the sea. Oil above head is already burning. He holds his breaths and attempts to swim to some area with no oil nor fire covered. Black curls of his hair swirl in seawater. Name tag of "Gibson" around his neck is now floating in front of his eyes. His lungs begin to protest. Vision is starting to black out —_   


Tommy gasps carelessly. He then sits up leaning against a pillow.   


 

* * *

 

His mother steps on the ladder to get stuffs from attic, in case they may be useful in air raid shelter. Father stands below, holding the ladder firmly.  

Tommy waits aside, fitting packs snugly into bags.   


Delivering the last four cans of bully beef, mother steps down off the ladder. Tommy places the cans, looking up right in time to see his fathers naturally sticks out a hand to get her.   


_Under the mole back in Dunkirk, there used to be another hand protecting him with the very same gesture._   


He catches her hand, continuing to hug her over and steal a kiss on her lips. Then the two of them turn over, surprisingly finding their son bursting into tears.   


 

* * *

  


_He swims out from the fire, but the only things left on the surface of sea are flame, sinking destroyer, sinking trawler, sinking bomber. There is not a single vessel passing by —_   


Tommy hugs both legs with his arms. He buries his head on his knees, wondering which dream was actually experienced by that French.   


 

* * *

  


His mother smooths his collar over and over again. Father standing besides the door waits for her to finish, "Are you sure you are ready to go off there again?"   


Tommy, biting his lips, nods.   


The expression on his father's face is mixed with concern and pride. He nods as well, "Good boy."   


Tommy's mother kisses cheeks repeatedly, "Do take care of yourself."   


"I'll pay attention to avoid Highlanders." Tommy tries to joke, but the disagreeing expressions on their faces quickly cause him biting his tongue, "I mean the Germans."   


 

* * *

_There is no ship around. He swims towards where Moonstone went as he recalls. But he is getting exhausted —_   


Tommy wakes up among a crowd of sleeping allied soldiers. He wraps the blanket tighter, secretly worrying about the invasion tomorrow.   


 

* * *

The Invasion of Normandy is huge.   


Tommy's troop liberates a small town several days after D-Day. Civilians come out on streets to celebrate.   


A french lad, almost at the same age as Tommy was four years ago, holds up a basket of cheese baguette near the road. Tommy takes one slice from it, looking up to notice this boy has some familiar black curls.   


Black curls finds Tommy staring at him, grinning back, "Merci."   


Tommy has never seen the other French lad with black curls smile. But he thinks that if Gibson was to laugh, it should be like this.   


 

* * *

 

The night they liberate Paris, Tommy is not woken by his dreams.

_He does not swim to that left ship. Instead, he turns back, heading towards his Patria. He walks on French beaches. He crosses liberated streets. He, finally reaching homeland, now stands at the front gate of his house. He pushes the door. Sunlight floods in._     


 

* * *

But all through his life, Tommy has never dreamt of the true doom of Gibson.   


Just like his limited knowledge on his name, his homeland and his past, Tommy also never got to know the way he died.

**Author's Note:**

> Again sorry about poor English of mine.
> 
> Please kindly point out any possible typos, grammar mistakes sorta thing for me. You will be appreciated.


End file.
